Brian A. Wong is a Chinese American entrepreneur and investor. He was the first American and only the 52nd employee to join Alibaba Group, where he worked alongside Jack Ma for 16 years. While there, he founded the Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) and was the founder and Executive Director of the Alibaba Global Leadership Academy. Wong remains an advisor to the AGI team and regularly teaches courses on China s digital economy and the Tao of Alibaba management principles. Wong is also Founder and Chairman of Shanghai-based RADII, a digital media company. Wong earned his bachelor s degree from Swarthmore College, a master s certificate from the Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) Nanjing University Center for U.S. and China Studies, and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania s Wharton School. He is a China Aspen Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He is based in Shanghai.
Wong, a former Alibaba executive and special assistant to the company's co-founder Jack Ma, lays out the company's 'secret sauce' and the culture that helped accelerate its growth in this revealing corporate history. --New York Times Brian Wong's book, The Tao of Alibaba, uses his insider's advantage to describe the growth and influence of China's most prominent digital company, and its impact globally. It helps to fill a knowledge gap about Chinese tech entrepreneurs and their ability to innovate despite the many challenges and frictions today. --Rebecca A. Fannin, Author, Silicon Dragon and Tech Titans of China A well-organized, well-written account of how Alibaba grew from a tiny startup to a corporate giant. --Kirkus Brian Wong gives an insider's look into the company unlike many that have come before him. The Tao of Alibaba exists precisely in the sweet spot where the remarkable detail of his adventures and learnings in Alibaba meets the challenges and motivations shared by entrepreneurs and leaders in solving the complex problems of a rapidly changing world. An important, relevant read for any leader to find their own 'Tao' in creating impact--that may one day exceed that which Alibaba has made. --Tan Yinglan, CEO & Founding Managing Partner, Insignia Ventures Partners Alibaba is not just a company; it's part of the infrastructure of modern life for billions of people around the globe. True to its title, Wong's instructive firsthand account really is the 'way' of Alibaba, both its purpose and its strategy. This book will teach entrepreneurs how to build a global business better than any MBA course ever could. --Dr. Parag Khanna, international bestselling author of The Future Is Asian An insider's account of one of the world's most important companies and a rare opportunity to see not only what makes Alibaba tick, but also how it helped change China. --Peter Cappelli, George W. Taylor Professor of Management, the Wharton School, and coauthor of Fortune Makers Brian Wong has masterfully laid out the blueprint for how Alibaba built a mission-driven organization that truly empowers its employees. He contextualizes the know-how of one of the world's greatest tech firms and reveals novel and unique insights that are invaluable to any entrepreneur. For those striving to create true impact, here's the formula! --Esther Wojcicki, leading American educator, author, and fabled godmother of Silicon Valley Digital disruption is impacting all of us no matter the size of the company, and the key is to have a strategy and view of where things are headed. This book is a must-read for anyone looking for invaluable management insights on how to future-proof your company for the digital age. --R Ray Wang, chairman of Constellation Research, Inc., and bestselling author of Disrupting Digital Business and Everyone Wants to Rule the World In The Tao of Alibaba, Wong gives us a management philosophy rooted in true purpose and meaning, qualities urgently needed today. The book shows leaders how they can steer their organization toward maximizing performance while at the same time having a real impact on the world around them. --Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO, Thrive Global People in the west should resist the temptation to discount tech firms like Alibaba just because of how different the operating environment is in China. But being Chinese is core to their corporate DNA. No one is better placed to unpack Alibaba's secret sauce than American-bred and educated Wong, who was at founder Jack Ma's side for years. His insights into what makes Jack tick and what makes Alibaba great are invaluable to anyone interested in starting and scaling a tech business. --Geoffrey Garrett, dean, Robert R. Dockson Dean's Chair in Business Administration and professor of management and organization, USC Marshall School of Business The explosion of the Chinese economy over the past forty years has been an earth-shaking event. Wise government policies triggered it, and a dynamic private sector drove it. Brian Wong has done an absolutely brilliant job of drawing out the special genius of Jack Ma and the Tao of Alibaba. This captivating tale will fundamentally change American perceptions of the China story. An absolute must-read! --Kishore Mahbubani, founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, and author of Has China Won? This should be required reading for business school! The Tao of Alibaba bridges east and west and provides a fresh alternative to western frameworks for leadership and company building. Wong boils down Alibaba's culture to a systematic, clear, and repeatable process. For the first time, founders around the world have the complete recipe to Alibaba's secret sauce. --Connie Chan, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz